Tanauan's Pasaka Festival won this year's 14th Kasadyaan Festival and earned the spot to represent the province in national festival competitions in the coming months while Eastern Visayas State University bagged the crown in 23rd Pintados Festival as thousands jampacked the Leyte Sports Development Center Saturday to witness the joined Leyte Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals.

The Pasaka Festival was already a crowd favorite even during the more than two hours street dancing held around Tacloban City's major thoroughfare. The Pasaka Festival dancers were in high spirits that enchanted even the judges who were all experts on culture and the arts.

Winning a whopping half a million pesos for taking the top plum, the Pasaka Festival also earned the opportunity to represent the Region in the next Aliwan Festival in Manila.

Tanauan Mayor Roque A. Tiu was surprised by the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the Tanauan dancers. They performed like winners and so they really won, Mayor Tiu added admitting that the Festival has been aiming for the top plum for many years already.

"If I am not mistaken, the Pasaka Festival of Tanauan is one festival that has always been a contingent since the inception of the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals," Mayor Tiu said. Other festivals have skipped for a year or two before they competed again, he added.

The good mayor who is currently the president of the LMP Leyte Chapter and has co-founded the first festival in Region 8 which is the Pintados Festival, intimated that the Tanauan Pasaka Festival already won second place in the Aliwan Festival sponsored by the Manila Broadcasting Company several years back. The Pasaka Festival then was represented by the elementary pupils of Bislig Elementary School, Mayor Tiu said.

"I am very, very happy our contingent won this year because this is one way to gain entry to other national festival competitions particularly for the Aliwan Fiesta where contingents may join only per invitation and if it has champion in festivals such as the Kasadyaan.

Composed of students of a well-know pilot APEX school, the Tanauan National High School, the Pasaka Festival is a colorful performance presenting a ritual honoring and thanking the Senor Santo Niño for the bountiful catches from the sea. One of Tanauan's main source of livelihood is the sea as it lies facing the marinelife-rich Pacific Ocean.

Tanauan Pasaka Festival bested ten other municipal festivals to emerge as champion in this year's Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival.

Settling in the second place is Dulag's Karatong Festival, also last year's runner up and 5th placer in the most recent Aliwan Festival.

Last year's winner, the Buyugan Festival of Abuyog also performed this year but not as a competing team because it was elevated to the Hall of Fame as the reigning Aliwan Festival champion.

Karatong Festival received P300,000 for taking the second top slot. It is still qualified to join upcoming national festival competitions such as the Sinulog Festival next year.

However, it is no longer qualified to represent the province in the Aliwan to the Buyugan Festival as the defending champion and to Pasaka Festival as this year's Kasadyaan grand champion.

Karatong Festival was also judged as the Best in Dance Parade and was awarded with another P100,000 cash prize. Both prizes were received by Dulag Mayor Manuel Sia Que.

Also sharing the limelight during the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival is Bato's Bato-Balani Festival which as the third placer, was also among the most applauded. Bato Mayor Luis Kuizon who expressed his joy of winning, is contented with the success of the Festival which was also judged as the Best in Festival Music earning another P100,000.

After being elevated to the Hall of Fame, Abuyog's Buyogan Festival joined this year only as guest contingent and was awarded P100, 000 by the Department of Tourism in the region for winning various national festival contingents, bringing honor and pride to the province and the region.

Buyogan is set to perform in Singapore in the coming months, Abuyog Mayor Octavio Traya disclosed.

In the Pintados-based category, Eastern Visayas State University bested eight other contingents to win the top prize of P50,000. Placing second was the Tanauan Pintados contingent composed of young people from SPAS of Barangay Santo Nino. Winning the third slot was Leyte Normal University Pintados tribe. They received cash prizes of P30,000 and P20,000, respectively, courtesy of the Pintados Foundation, Inc.